Pep Guardiola has confirmed he will be leaving Barcelona at the end of the season, but chances of him coming to Serie A this summer look unlikely.

The 41-year-old Coach made public this afternoon his desire to leave the Catalan club, for who he has won a record number of trophies inside a four-year spell, explaining that the demands of the job have taken their toll.

However, the former Brescia and Roma player is unlikely to take over a Serie A side this summer, despite previous links during the year to Inter, after the admittance that he needs to take a sabbatical.

“I want you I want you to understand that this is not a simple decision for me,” the Spaniard explained in a news conference on Friday afternoon.

“At the beginning of December I announced to the chairman that I was seeing the end of my era at Barcelona. Obviously we couldn't say that publicly.

“Now we are out of the two main competitions it is a good time to announce this. I did not want to continue with the confusion. The reason is simple - four years is enough.

“The new Coach [Tito Vilanova] will give things that I am unable to give any more. To be in front of the media every three days for four years is very demanding.

“When I was appointed [in 2008], I started jumping like a little kid. To be able to take charge of the senior side was an unbelievable chance. Time has taken its toll and I rise each day and don’t feel the same.

“You can only recover from this by resting and getting away from everything. It would have been a bad idea to continue. [Now] I only intend to take a rest.”